Government Service Delivery System: Does Satisfaction Matter? With Reference to Right to Service Act in the State of Karnataka, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53739/samvad/2023/v26/172656Keywords:
Citizen Charter, Governance, Public Administration, Right to Service, Service Quality, Service Satisfaction, Stipulated TimeAbstract
Purpose: Service delivery is the main function of any government. For measuring the success of government and its governance a well-founded theory is crucial, which could help governments to improve their service standards as well as service satisfaction of citizens. We propose this measure using citizen service satisfaction as a measure of government’s success, as well as explore its relation with quality of the service delivered to the citizens. The purpose of this research is to examine the quality of public service delivery system in Karnataka, India and determine the important factors which influence the quality of public service delivery system and citizen service satisfaction. Design/Methodology/Approach: In India, the majority of states are delivering the public services to citizens under right to service act. In comparison with 23 other counterparts, Karnataka has been the state to deliver highest number of services in India under right to service act. At present the state of Karnataka is providing 1,181 services within the stipulated time frame of right to service act. Hence survey was conducted in the state of Karnataka. Primary data associated with variables influencing public service quality are collected using a questionnaire survey. The survey questionnaire has been designed on basis of literature review and in consultation with officials involved in public service delivery system. Findings: Tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, valence, and waiting time were the seven factors which were grouped under two dimensions functional quality and technical quality of service delivery. The analysis shows that 52.2% of the variance in citizen service satisfaction is captured by service quality and its dimensions. We found that service quality has a relationship with citizen service satisfaction. Waiting Time, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibility were found to be of more importance when compared with remaining factors in determining service quality. From the study, it is evident that citizen service satisfaction can be expressed as proportional change in service quality. Practical Implications: The results contribute towards understanding of key factors which influence citizen service satisfaction and help to enhance service delivery process. Social Implications: Public services are the services which are being provided by government to citizens, which include services from issuance of birth certificate till issuance of death certificate, services covering major events of entire lifecycle of an individual. The ameliorate service quality can enhance public service satisfaction precipitating in good governance. Originality/Value: This study addresses quality of public service delivery system in India through a carefully designed research. This research will be of greater value to scholars involved in research area of public service delivery system, public service quality and satisfaction in developing countries.Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
References
Anwer, M. A., Esichaikul, V., Rehman, M. & Anjum, M. (2016). E-government services evaluation from citizen satisfaction perspective: A case of Afghanistan, Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 10(1), 139-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-03-2015- 0017
Brady, M. K. & Cronin, J. J. (2001). Some new thoughts on conceptualizing perceived service quality: A hierarchical approach, Journal of Marketing, 65(3), 34-49. https://doi. org/10.1509/jmkg.65.3.34.18334
Chandra, D. G. & Malaya, D. B. (2011). Problems and prospects of e-Governance in India. 2011 World Congress on Information and Communication Technologies, pp. 42-47. https://doi.org/10.1109/WICT.2011.6141215
Chodzaza, G. E. & Gombachika, H. S. H. (2013). Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty among industrial customers of a public electricity utility in Malawi, International Journal of Energy Sector Management, 7(2), 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJESM-02-2013-0003
Ma, D., Wang, Q., Xu, Z., Liang, W. & Chen, G. (2008). Research on the evaluation of e-Government service quality. 2008 4th International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, pp. 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1109/WiCom.2008.2114
Mills, P. K., Chase, R. B. & Margulies, N. (1983). Motivating the client/employee system as a service production strategy, Academy of Management Review, 8(2). https://doi. org/10.2307/257758
Muhammad, H. & Hromada, M. (2022). Proposing an e-Government stage model in terms of personal information security in developing countries. 2022 IEEE International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology (ICCST), pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1109/ ICCST52959.2022.9896521
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Berry, L. L. (1985). A conceptual model of service quality and its implications for future research, Journal of Marketing, 49(3), 41-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298504900403
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. A. & Malhotra, A. (2005). E-S-QUAL: A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality, Journal of Service Research, 7(3), 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670504271156
Paul, A. & Paul, V. The e-Government interoperability through Enterprise Architecture in Indian perspective. 2012 World Congress on Information and Communication Technologies, pp. 645-650. https://doi. org/10.1109/WICT.2012.6409155
Powpaka, S. (1996). The role of outcome quality as a determinant of overall service quality in different categories of services industries: An empirical investigation. Journal of Services Marketing, 10(2), 5-25. https://doi. org/10.1108/08876049610114230
Shostack, G. L. (1982). How to design a service, European Journal of Marketing, 16(1), 49-63. https://doi. org/10.1108/EUM0000000004799
Rust, R. T. & Oliver, R. L. (1994). Service quality: Insights and managerial implications from the frontier, In: R. T. Rust and R. L. Oliver, (Eds), Service Quality: New Directions in Theory and Practice, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452229102. n1
Seddon, P. B. & Kiew, M. Y. (1996). A partial test and development of Delone and Mclean’s model of is success, Australian Journal of Information System, 4(2). https:// doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v4i1.379
Shostack, L. G. (1984). Designing services that deliver, Harvard Business Review, 84115, 133-139.
Shwetha, T. M. & Muralidhara, B. L. (2018). e-Governance for India’s development: A review, 3rd International Conference on Computational Systems and Information Technology for Sustainable Solutions (CSITSS), pp. 214- 220. https://doi.org/10.1109/CSITSS.2018.8768732
Spangenberg, E. R., Crowley, A. E. & Henderson, P. W. (1996). Improving the store environment: Do olfactory cues affect evaluations and behaviors?, Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 67-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299606000205
Sukmasetya, P., Santoso, H. B. & Sensuse, D. I. Current e-Government public service on user experience perspective in Indonesia, 2018 International Conference on Information Technology Systems and Innovation (ICITSI), pp. 159-164. https://doi.org/10.1109/ ICITSI.2018.8695962
Tamwatin, U., Trimetsoontorn, J. & Fongsuwan, W. (2016). The effect of tangible and intangible service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: A SEM approach towards a five star hotel in Thaliand, Journal of Global Business Advancement, 8(4), 399-419. https://doi. org/10.1504/JGBA.2015.074019
Wang, H. & Hou, J. Main contributions of e-Governance. 2010 International Conference On Computer Design and Applications, pp. V1-173-V1-176. https://doi. org/10.1109/ICCDA.2010.5541196
Wantao, Y. & Ramanathan, R. (2012). Retail service quality, corporate image and behavioral intentions: The mediating effects of customer satisfaction, The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 22(5), 485-505. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2012. 711250
Wilkins, H., Merrilees, B. & Herington, C. (2007). Towards an understanding of total service quality in hotels, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26(4):840-853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijhm.2006.07.006
Wu, H. C. & Ko, Y. J. (2013). Assessment of service quality in the hotel industry, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, 14(3), 218-244. https://doi.org/1 0.1080/1528008X.2013.802557
